Volume 36 (2017)

COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 22

Featured News House and Senate Release Bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill COSSA in Action The American Sociological Association Answers “Why Social Science?” Congressional News Lamar Smith, Sen. Jeff Flake Announce Retirement GOP Tax Plan Could Hurt Students, NDD Programs Federal Agency & Administration News NSF Seeking to Fill Two Top Social Science Posts Alex Azar, Former Pharmaceutical Executive, Nominated to Lead HHS Linda Capuano Nominated as Head of Energy Information Administration OBSSR to Host Annual Research Festival on December 8 NIA Releases Request for Information on Challenge Prize for Alzheimer’s Research Publications & Community Events National Academies Calls for Better Integration…

House and Senate Release Bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill

On November 1, members of the House and Senate introduced the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, the “down-payment” legislation that would enact some of the less complicated (and less controversial) recommendations of the report from the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (see COSSA’s coverage and statement). The bill was introduced in the House by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) as H.R. 4174 and cosponsored by Representatives Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and in the Senate by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) as S. 2046 and cosponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform…

The American Sociological Association Answers “Why Social Science?

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from Jean Shin, Director of Minority and Student Affairs at the American Sociological Association, who writes about how insights from the social sciences both demonstrates the importance of diversity and help us identify ways build a more inclusive society. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Rep. Lamar Smith, Sen. Jeff Flake Announce Retirement

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a prominent fiscal hawk and critic of President Trump, announced on October 24 that he would not be seeking reelection. In a passionate speech on the Senate floor, Flake criticized the disregard for truth and decency in political discourse. Flake has fought the expansion of the federal government during his tenure, which included issuing “waste books” that critiqued federal spending, including research grants. Flake joined the Senate in 2013 and will serve until January 2019. Less ceremoniously, on November 2, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, announced his…

GOP Tax Plan Could Hurt Students, NDD Programs

Several provisions contained in the tax plans rolled out by Republican leadership this month have raised concerns for stakeholder groups that do not normally weigh in on tax policy. The House’s plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on November 9 and is expected to be debated on the House floor later this week. The Senate Finance Committee began its markup of  the Senate plan on Monday and will continue its consideration of the bill today. There are significant differences between the two plans that would need to be worked out during…

NSF Seeking to Fill Two Top Social Science Posts

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated a national search for Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. Dr. Fay Lomax Cook has served in this position since September 2014. The Assistant Director for SBE will oversee the directorate, which includes the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, the Division of Social and Economic Sciences, the SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The search committee is seeking candidates with outstanding leadership capabilities; a deep sense of scholarship; a grasp of the issues facing the social, behavioral, and economic…

Alex Azar, Former Pharmaceutical Executive, Nominated to Lead HHS

President Trump has nominated Alex Azar to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which would include oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), among other federal agencies. Azar served as general counsel and deputy secretary to the Department under the George W. Bush administration and served as the president of Lilly Co., part of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co., until earlier this year. Azar’s nomination comes following former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s resignation after news surfaced of improper use of private jets for government…

Linda Capuano Nominated as Head of Energy Information Administration

Linda Capuano, energy technology fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, has been nominated to lead the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the principal statistical agency located within the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Capuano worked at Marathon Oil Corporation and Solectron Flextronics. She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. EIA’s most recent Administrator, Adam Sieminski, left the agency in January. John Conti, EIA’s Deputy Administrator is currently serving as Acting Administrator. Capuano’s nomination next goes to the Senate for a confirmation hearing…

OBSSR to Host Annual Research Festival on December 8

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is hosting the “NIH Behavioral and Social Science Research Festival: Connecting People to Advance Health” on Friday, December 8. The festival will bring together behavioral and social scientists from inside and outside NIH to network, collaborate, and share ideas. The agenda will include a keynote address from Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities as well as plenary sessions on international research, behavioral neuroscience, and social factors and health. This event will not be webcast. More details and registration information…

NIA Releases Request for Information on Challenge Prize for Alzheimer’s Research

On November 2, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback and ideas for a Challenge Prize on Alzheimer’s and related dementias research. This Challenge Prize is being conducted as part of the implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act and is the first Challenge Prize from the NIA. The institute is requesting suggestions for what prize goals should be established and other specific ideas for what should be considered in the Challenge Prize. Responses must be submitted by December 31. Back to this issue’s table…

National Academies Calls for Better Integration of Social and Behavioral Science into Weather Enterprise

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has released a new consensus report, Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise. Sponsored by the National Weather Service and the Office of Weather and Air Quality within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Highway Administration, the report acknowledges a “growing recognition that a host of social and behavioral factors determine how we prepare for, observe, predict, respond to, and are impacted by weather hazards” and that research and findings from the social and behavioral sciences must be better incorporated into the systems we use…

National Academies Releases Proactive Policing Report

On November 11, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, entitled Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities. The report evaluates the impact of proactive policing strategies on crime, communities, and racial disparities in policing. Proactive policing differs from traditional policing in that it targets the underlying causes of crime and disorder rather than reacting to crime after it occurs. The report concludes that sufficient scientific evidence supports the adoption of some proactive policing practices and that proactive policing is particularly…

Academies Decadal Survey Seeking Social Science Research Ideas to Improve Intelligence Analysis

As part of the Decadal Survey of Social and Behavioral Science for Applications to National Security, the Committee for the Decadal Survey has opened a call for input from the scientific community to share innovative scientific approaches and research concepts. More specifically, the focus of this call for information is to identify cutting-edge research that might improve intelligence analysis within the next ten years. The Committee has created an IdeaBuzz website to allow the social and behavioral science research community to share ideas and engage in meaningful discussions about current and future trends in the social and behavioral sciences. Back…

Events Calendar

A Forum and Reception for the National Center for Education Statistics, November 15, 2017, Washington, DC American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 15-18, 2017, Philadelphia, PA National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, November 15-18, 2017, Oralndo, FL National Communication Association Annual Convention, November 16-19, 2017, Dallas, TX Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, November 16-19, 2017, San Diego, CA African Studies Association Annual Meeting, November 16-19, 2017, Chicago, IL American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 29-December 3, 2017, Washington, DC Annual NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival, December 8, 2017, Bethesda, MD Association of American…

COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 21

Featured News COSSA Joins Societies in Requesting Changes to NIH Clinical Trial Policy Congressional News Rand Paul Introduces Bill to “Reform” Federal Research Grant System Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Indirect Costs of Research Federal Agency & Administration News William Beach, Former Budget Committee Economist, Nominated as BLS Commissioner GAO to Study Potential Federal Interference in Science NSF’s Statistical Division Seeks Director GAO Report on Firearm Storage Highlights Lack of Federal Funding for Gun Research Publications & Community Events CNSTAT Issues Report on Federal Statistics, Multiple Data Sources, and Privacy Protection NDD United Highlights Impacts of…

Rand Paul Introduces Bill to “Reform” Federal Research Grant System

On October 18, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Chair of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hosted a hearing entitled “Broken Beakers: Federal Support for Research.” Following the hearing Sen. Paul introduced the BASIC Research Act (S. 1973) to “reform” the federal research grant system. The bill would alter how grant proposals at all federal research funding agencies are reviewed by adding non-expert members of the public to review panels and requiring all applications for federal research grants to be made public. The bill also proposes the elimination of the Inspector…

COSSA Joins Societies in Requesting Changes to NIH Clinical Trial Policy

In a letter sent to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins on October 27, COSSA and 21 other scientific societies and associations requested that NIH revisit a new policy that alters the definition of “clinical trials” funded by the agency and institutes new reporting requirements for such research (see COSSA’s coverage of this issue). While the letter is supportive of the goal of enhancing transparency of NIH-funded research, including introducing registration and reporting requirements, the signatories express concern that “basic science research is being redefined as a clinical trial at NIH and that “basic science investigators will be…

Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Indirect Costs of Research

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education held a hearing on October 24 on the role of facilities and administrative costs (also known as indirect costs) in supporting NIH-funded research. The hearing included testimony from Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Vice President of Research at the University of Oklahoma; Dr. Gary Gilliland, President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Dr. Bruce Liang, Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine; and Dr. Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Droegemeier’s written testimony included a history…

William Beach, Former Budget Committee Economist, Nominated as BLS Commissioner

The White House has nominated William Beach for a four-year term as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), succeeding Erica Groshen, whose term expired in January, and William J. Wiatrowski, the Acting Commissioner since Groshen’s departure. Currently Vice President for Policy Research at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Beach holds a Ph.D. in economics from the UK’s Buckingham University. Prior to joining the Mercatus Center, Beach served as the Chief Economist for the Senate Budget Committee’s Republican staff and the Lazof Family Fellow in Economics director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation. BLS Commissioners…

GAO to Study Potential Federal Interference in Science

According the Washington Post, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will undertake a study of federal agencies’ scientific integrity policies and potential federal interference in the scientific process at the request of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Nelson, the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, made the request in a letter dated September 25, 2017. Citing concerns stemming from reports of possible interference in the scientific process at the Environmental Protection Agency, changes to agencies’ public information related to climate change, and the cancellation of a study that might be damaging to the fossil fuel industry, Nelson asked…

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